I have steered clear of the Ordain Women issue, mostly because I don’t feel the same way as that group of women do about the need for women to hold the priesthood in the LDS Church. So I say do your own thing and I’ll do mine and there’s really no need to get into a whole screaming match over who is the most fantastic feminist female out … Continue reading»

My 3-year-old daughter returned from a timeout in her room yesterday like this: That’s right: She gave herself the most horrific preschooler mullet of all time. This was no casual chop; it was an intense massacre of hair that involved cutting off both ponytails and then proceeding to give herself multiple bald spots. Of course we had a serious discussion of why it is not safe to use … Continue reading»

I watched a friend of mine breastfeeding her baby recently and couldn’t help feeling a bit of nostalgia – and maybe jealousy. OK, that sounds a little lurker McCreeperson, but watching her took me back to the days of breastfeeding my own children. I loved breastfeeding, even though it was torture on my body for the first few weeks. Fourteen months later, I had to wean my children … Continue reading»

This is what I wake up to in the morning: I found this picture, which I will forever think of as my 3-year-olds first selfie, on my camera today. And it stopped me cold. It was just there between the hundreds of other photos I take of my kids everyday. Soccer. Ballet. School events. And then, this. This close-up, hilarious photo that reminded me how life with small … Continue reading»

We’ve all seen them: the parents who are pushing a park swing with one hand and checking their email with the other. Or the mom who hasn’t interacted once with her child since they sat down at their fast-food booth because her face is glued to her phone screen. Then there’s the mother who is loudly speaking to someone on her phone rather than to her own child … Continue reading»

Life will be better when . . . I’m sure most of us are guilty of saying or thinking that phrase with any number of endings. Life will be better when I have more money. Life will be better when I have a bigger house. Life will be better when spring comes. Life will be better when I have children. Life will be better when my children can … Continue reading»

A flurry of blogs and articles about promoting good body image in girls hit the interwebz this week. This article by a dad about the horrors of the make-up aisle set things off. He writes on his blog, “Flawless finish. Your finish has nothing to do with how your face looks today and everything to do with how your life looks on your last day. May your years … Continue reading»

After we finalized our homestudy and officially announced we are hoping to adopt, I have had lots of people ask me one question: So what’s going on with the adoption? I know these people are well-meaning friends who are genuinely interested in my life and are anxious for me to find the baby that I believe is meant to be my child. But I have to admit, every … Continue reading»

Letting children fail is hard. I am horrible at it. I have been trying lately to not jump in and save my 6-year-old daughter so much. I answer her questions (all 10,000 of them per day), I zip up her coat, re-tie her shoes and remind her to get her lunch, pack her backpack and wipe her face. It didn’t occur to me until recently that I was … Continue reading»

I admit I have fallen into the mommy entertainer trap. Somewhere along the way I took it on as my responsibility to not only be the mother, but also the one-mom party bus of crafts, games and other diversions to fill an afternoon. I feel guilty if my kids are bored—as if I’m doing something wrong or letting them down. I play Memory and princess make-believe and other … Continue reading»

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About Me

I am a mother of two daughters: Nicole is almost 5 and Anne is 19 months. Every Tuesday I write the Just4Moms blog to discuss everything about my life as a mom — from stretch marks to the latest news for moms. I usually write while the kids or napping or doing swan dives off the back of the couch.

Three things I have learned about myself as a mother:

1. I am not perfect.
2. I will never be perfect.
3. Nobody else is either.